I was privileged to attend the ASBAQ 2014 conference on the Gold Coast early in June, where Westpac was Gold sponsor, continuing our support of the Independent Education Sector of more than 20 years.
The theme of the conference was "Sustainability in Management Practices", and a number of speakers, including Economist Dr Chris Caton questioned the sustainability of school fee increases – which are growing at around 6% pa , compared to the current CPI of 2.70%pa (December 2013), and 2.90%pa (year to date).
Education now ranks 3rd in an overview of the major categories with the most significant price rises as shown below:
- Tobacco (+6.7%),
- Pharmaceutical products (+6.1%),
- Secondary education (+6.0%),
- Tertiary education (+4.3%),
- Automotive fuel (+4.1%),
- Medical and hospital services(+1.9%)
So, in an environment where recurrent funding will only keep up with inflation, and where parent's ability to keep absorbing fee and other cost increases is questionable, what gives ?
One area - Operational Efficiency. We recommend a review of some of the inefficient structures, and procedures in the administration and business office. Systems not taking to each other, manual inputs, and inefficient collection of receivables in the way of cash, cheques and credit card details are just some of the things we see every day that need manual intervention, meaning more staff and a higher wages bill.
In terms for receivables – significant efficiencies can be generated through using payment portals, and the major software companies such as Tass.web now offer online payment gateways which will auto reconcile school fees. Direct Debiting and BPAY are also basic essentials.
These electronic channels allow for the upload of a file, rather than manual reconciliation. Time wasters are direct deposit, receipt of cash/ cheques, and the slips where your parents fill in credit card details for you to process. (You know the ones !!)
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